Hanoi’s just-opened Astronomy Park has seen mass fish deaths over recent days.
Located in Duong Noi urban area in Ha Dong District, the park covers 120,000 sqm, of which 6,000 sqm is the water surface area of the Bach Hop Thuy Lake. The park has attracted a large number of visitors after opening early this month, especially children who come to play around and learn about astronomy. The park has also become a favourite place for local people to come for some physical morning and afternoon exercises.
However, many people have complained about the mass fish deaths at Bach Hop Thuy Lake, which have created a bad odour over the past 10 days.
The dead fish could be seen drifting to a corner of the lake on February 27.
Many other fish look weak and are also dying.
A guard at the park, Duong Van Hoang, said that the fish may have died from untreated wastewater flowing to the lake from surrounding residential areas.
"Most of the fish here were released by local people but they're dying from polluted water," he said.
Leaders of Duong Noi Ward People's Committee said that they're investigating the situation and will deal with the pollution soon.
The VND260 billion project, which is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, was started in 2017 and completed in early 2020. However, due to various reasons including the Covid-19 pandemic, visitors have had to wait four years before it officially opened in February this year.
